Process for the production of ozone.



J. S TEYNIS. PROCESS FOR. THE PRODUCTION OF OZONE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3, 1908.

906,4 A Patented-Dec. s, 1908.

Invenfor:

e751; ,Sie ms JAN STEYNIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF OZONE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

Original application filed January 24,1908, Serial No. 412,878. Divided and this application filed September 8, 1908.

'1n'oducingthe desired low temperature.

Tocll whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Jan S'll-IYNIS, a subject of the Queen of the Netherlands, and rcsiding in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for the Produc- I tion of Ozone, of which the following is a full, clear, and complete disclosure.

This zi ilt ion is a division of my prior application for Apparatus for the production of ozone, Serial Number 412,3T8, filed January 2t, 1908.

My invention resides in the process of producing ozone by employing the well known silent oi'streaining electrical discharges, and, in addition, ,nmintaining the temperature of the treated gas prat'ztically constant during its passage through the ozoning chamber by following each short period of ozonizing action with a corresponding period of cooling action, so that for each increment of ozonizing effect the corresponding increment oi? h rat will be abstracted, While the ozonizing results will be retained and the gas at no time during its progress through the chamber will be permitted to risein temperature above the point necessary for the most ctlicicnt ozonizing action. By this I am enabled tomaintain a practically perfect. physical balance between the development of heat in each ozonizing step and the abstraction of heat by cooling, whereby the chemical equilibrium between the oxygen in the gas submitted to the process and the ozone thereby produced is the equilibrium corresponding to the lowest practicable temperature. In other words, I maintain the lowest temperature practicable, at which temperature the chemical e uilibrium gives us the largest percentage 0 ozone and the lowest percentage of remaining oxygen in the submitted gas. Moreover, in addition to this process of progressively cooling the treated gas step by step during its passage through the ozonizer, it is also a part of my present invention to accomplish the cooling aforesaid by means of a liquefied gas from which the pressure is removed at the moment of use, so that. it is free to revertfrom the liquid to the gaseous state and thereby absorb its characteristic amount of latent heat, which heat it gathers from the gas which is being ozonized and from the adjacent parts of the apparatus. This is the best means now known to me for Serial No. 461,547.

Preferably 1 apply the cooling effect through the agency of the electrodes between which the electrical discharges take place, these electrodes being for this purpose made hollow and preferably of a sinuous form, and the cooling liquefied being introduced iuto'them and there allowed to expand and produce the cooling effect above mentioned. By this means the cooling action is applied directly at the point of heating and can bev eti'ectively and instantly adjusted to secure.

the described balance. 'While I maintain the above mentioned temperature balancethroughout the entire length of the ozonizer,. I prefer to have at all points the same ve.-. locity and same cross-section of the column of gas under treati'ncnt, which calls for substautially the same degrees of ozonizing and cooling ett'ccts at all points of the ozonizer in order to preserve the balance.

In the accompanying drawing is shown one of the. numerous forms of apparatus which may be employed in performing my process. I

Figure l is a vertical section view of the said apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section view taken on the line A A of Fig. 1.

In these drawings, 1 indicates a receptacle or chamber which may have metallic walls 2, except. on that side which is traversed by the conduits for the cooling gas, where a wall 3 of marble or some suitable nonconducttng tuatcrlal is employed. The chamber thus formed by the metallic wall 2 and insulating wall 3 is inclosed by a suitable jacket 4 of cork or other non-conductor of heat, in order to render the process independent of the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. The gas to be ozonixed enters the aforesaid chamber at the bottom through the mlct pipe 7 and the ozone 1s discharged therefrom at the upper end' through the outlet pipe 8, although the direction may be reversed in some cases to advantage because of the ozone being heavier than gas from which it is derived.

The electrodes contained in the aforesaid chamber 1 are marked 9 and are shown as three in number. the central one being connected to one terminal and the other two to the opposite terminal of the circuit. One terminal of the circuit is also grounded as a matter of convenience, in order to avoid'the need of insulation on that side of the circuit.

These electrodes 9 are flat in form and areeach composed of a sinuous tube, the bends of the tubes lying in a vertical plane, and between the successive loops of the tubes'are interposed corru 'ated plates 22:, which form a radiating sur ace. or partitions 25, preferably of glass, are in terposed between the electrodes, while the tubular portions of the electrodes are slightly elevated above the corrugated radiating plates 24, so that the electrical discharge occurs at the raised tubular ortions and not at the radiating portions 0 the electrodes. The dielectric plates 25 are not attached to the walls of the chamber at the top and bottom, so that the free assage of the gas to be ozonized is permitted on both sides thereof between the said plates and the electrode surfaces parallel thereto. 4

The cooling liquefied gas is introduced into the aforesaid hollow electrodes, and, as it expands, circulates along the sinuous path formed by the tubular electrodes, chilling both the discharge portion and the radiating portion thereof. Into the grounded electrodes the coolin gas is introduced by the pipe 32 and wit drawn therefrom by the pipe the cooling gas is introduced by the pipe 30 and withdrawn by the pipe 31, the electrodes being insulated, by the tubular insulators 14 and 15, from the remainder of the pipe system. Thus in the supply pipe the tubular insulator 14 is inserted as a section of said pipe, being connected at its lower end to the in ct pipe 30, while similarly the outlet pipe 31 is continued by the tubular insulator l5 and the pipe leading therefrom; in the inlet pipe leading to the insulated electrode is placed the regulating and controlling valve 21, while below it in the same pipe is a rotary valve 20 which serves to interrupt the continuous flow of the liquefied gas and permit to fall in drops through the sulator .Ll into the inlet pipe 30. By this means the insulation of the non-grounded electrode ii maintained, there being no chance for the electricity to escape through a stream of liquefied gas acting as a conductor. For the grounded electrode a controlling valve will he provided but the intcrrupt-er valve is not required.

'lheelectrrcal energy, preferably of the alterna ng form he provided by a' transformer i2, its secondary leads 11 being con-;

nected respectively to the central electrode on the one hand and the two grounded electrodes on the other hand. i

In operation the gas to be ozonized is admitted to the chamber through the inlet pipe and passes upward through the ozonizing :hamber at a practically constant velocity, the cross section of the gas column being practically uniform, so that the aforesaid The dielectric plates Into the non-grounded electrode.

trodes between which the electrical discharge is taking place and is thereby subjected to the ozonizing action which pro.-

duces a certain increment of heat, and then it immediately passes over the coolingsu'r- ,faces of the adjacent'set of'corru ated plates 25 where the heat generated by t e previous ozonizin'g action is immediately abstracted, there being, of course, no marked increase in temperature but simply a tendency team increase of temperature at the ozonizing point and a counterbalancing cooling tendency at the cooling point which counteracts the heating tendency, so that the gas arrives at. the

next ozonizing point at the same low temperature at which it entered the chamber. This effect is continued throughout the entire length of the. chamber, there being a proper proportionin of the cooling effect with respect to the heati efiect at each division of the electrodes. preferably dried before lts admission to the chamber in any suitable manner, as by passing the same through a freezingchainb'er to dry it, which also reduces 'itto the required,

The beetle-trans low initial temperature. ferred not only by conduction, but also by radiation, While the forward flow of'the gas also serves to distribute the cooling action and maintain the constancy of temperature throughout the ozonizing chamber. I therefore maintain the constancy of temperature in the gas, in the electrodes and in the dielectric, which a triple cooling effect of much value. ratio of air-flow and can ma (c it as low as desired, and the velocity of the gas being low, very high concentrations become possible and the maintenance of the low temperature permits the eliectivo 7 production of he as to be ozonized I am also independent of the" ozone at all points in the chamber, it having i been found that there is a definite relation between the temperature and pressure, of'the gas being treated, when the concentration or the production of ozone at a maximum for any given temperature or pressure. lation or balance is made possible by the fact that the increments of ozonizing effects are retained while the increments of heating eii'ect are removed. The uniformity of ten1- pe'raturo throughout the chamber also has the effect, of pi'eservin a uniformly low temperature of the ielectric partitions which are usually of glass and liable to be broken by internal strains when unevenly heated and cooled.

Havin thus described one form of my improved process, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

This recomprises passing independent electrical to a succession of silent or 1. The process of producing ozone which comprises progressively ozonizing a suitable gas and during the submission of the gas to the ozonizing action, correspondingly and continually abstracting the increments 0 heat produced.

2. The process of producing ozone which the gas therefor through silent or streaming discharges and during the ozonizing action-maintaining the said gas at a substantially uniform temperature.

3. The process of producing ozone which comprises passing the gas therefor through silent or streaming discharges and during the ozonizing action maintaining the said gas at a substantially uniform temperature by causing successive cooling actions;

The process-of producing ozone'which comprises passing the gas therefor through silent 01' streaming discharges and during the ozonizing action balancing, step by step, the increments of heat produced, by corresponding increments of cooling actions.-

The process of producing ozone which comprises, submitting the gas being treated streaming discharges-at a substantially uniform rate and during the ozonizing action maintaining, through the action of a contiuuously-acting cooling medium, a balance, for any given pressure, between the heat generated by the discharges and the heat. abstracted so that the temperature remains constant, said temperature being the temperature of chemical equilibrium of the discharged gas.

(3. A process for producing ozone which consists in submitting the gas to a series of discharges and during the ozonization maintaining the temperature of the gas substantially constant, the constancy of this temperature giving the highest production of ozone ing chemical equilibrium for such temperature, the constancy of temperature being maintained by the action of an expanding liquefiet gas.

T. A process for the formation of ozone, comprising subjecting a column of the treated gas, substantially uniform in cross section, to a series of bands of streaming discharges and at the same time cooling said gas between each successive band of discharge.

8. A process cmnprising subjecting the formed to a series of successive stremuing discharges cooling said gas between each successive. band of disclntrge, the velocity and,cross section of the path of How of the gas being for the formation of ozone,

gas to be transbands of by virtue of the resultand at the'same time' maintained substantially constant during treatment. i

9. A process for the formation of ozone, comprising subjecting the gas to be transformed to streaming discharges, at the same time cooling said gas and absorbing all heat incident upon said discharges through the action of an expanding or evaporating lique- 10. A process for the formation of ozone, comprising sub ect1ng the gas to be transformed to streaming discharges, said discharges and gas being maintained interactivenpon each other in the presence of the cooling effect of an expanding or evapoating liquefied gas sufficient to absorb all the.heat dveloped. v i

11. A 1 ocess for the formation of ozone, comprising subjecting the gas t be transformed to a series of successive bands of streaming discharges in the ozonizing chamber and at the same time cooling said gas between eaclrsuccesslve band of discharge in the ozonizing chamber by the action of an expanding ()1 evaporatingliquefied gas.

12. A process for the formation of ozone, comprising subjecting the gas to be transformed to a series of successive bands of streaming discharges and at the same time cooling said gas in and between each suc cessive band of discharge by the action of an expanding or evaporating liquefied gas.

13. A process for-the formation of ozone. comprising the steps of dividing liquefied gas into separate insulated bodies. expanding the same, and the same time subjecting a uniform column of the gas to be transformed to a series of successive bands of streaming discharges under the cooling effect of said expanding liquefied gas betweenits passages through each successive band or discharge and reliquefying the expanded gas.

14. A process for the formation of ozone. comprising the steps of dividing the liquetied gas into separate in ulated bodies, expanding the same, and 212; the same time sub-' jecting a uniform column of the gas tovbe transformed to a series of successive bands of streaming discharges under the cooling effect of said expanding liquefied gas during and between its passages through each sitecessive band of discharge andreliquefying the expanded gas. i

' Signed at the city of New York. in the State of New York. this 1st day of September, 1908. v

JAN STEYNT \Vit nesses llnwaun V. VAILL. J12, Janus J. Cosonovn. 

